Development

We make decisions all day long. Some are more important than others. Some are "Mission Critical" and have serious consequences. Whatever the case or circumstance may be, there are always consequences with every decision. I've learned, the decisions I make today, will determine the stories I tell tomorrow. Certainly our gut and intuition have a role in decision-making, however, gut and intuition are typically based on our past experiences. That is fine, we just need to be careful with too much emotion clouding our decision. Let's remember, the emotion of anger is the most prominent emotion of impending good judgment. The following are some guidelines I use in decision-making. While they are very basic, hopefully you will find them helpful: [...]

As leaders, we should create an environment where people come to work every day to prove themselves over and over again. No one gets paid to budget their efforts or pace themselves. That is easier said than done, I know this very painfully. Too many compromises, too many hanger-oners, too many lack of performers. Through the years , I have learned some truths that may help in declaring a war on poor performance. Evaluate your roster and ask yourself whether you would re-hire your people. If not, it's time to exercise what is referred to as the Three T's to turn things around: train, transfer, or terminate.  Identify which poor performers are diminishing your standards. Be aware that keeping the [...]

In a merit culture, the organization needs to be run like a team rather than like a family. On occasion I have heard a member of our team describe our organization as "one big happy family." This sounds nice; it's a warm and fuzzy (everyone has trophy mindset). This mindset has no place in a performance based culture in business. For example, family models tend to be forgiving and accepting. In a family, no one is judged: everyone is accepted and benefits strictly because they belong -- not because they perform. Family models are too generous and too tolerant to serve in a merit culture business. Membership in a family is the epitome of entitlement -- it is assumed and not earned. [...]